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Skeleton Warriors (video game)
Skeleton Warriors is a video game developed by Neversoft and published by Playmates Interactive for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn. Overview Skeleton Warriors is a 2D side-scrolling action game, combining both platforming and fighting elements, along with occasional driving levels, developed by Neversoft Entertainment and released for both the Playstation and the Sega Saturn. The game was based on a kid's cartoon show which aired for 13 episodes on CBS in 1993-1994. Both the game and the tv show were quite unpopular and performed poorly commercially. Story The game is set on the planet of Lumimaire where two opposing forces, the Legion of Light, and the Skeleton Legion, led by Baron Dark, fight for control of the Lightstar Crystal, an ancient and magical crystal that is vital to the survival of the planet, but is also rumored to provide unlimited power to its holder. The Legion of Light, led by the hero Prince Justin Lightstar, along with his allies Talyn, Grimskull, and Ursak, spend their lives defending the crystal and trying to prevent it falling into the wrong hands. However, at the opening of the game it is revealed that Baron Dark has managed to steal half of the crystal, turning him into an undead skeleton and granting him control of a great army of skeleton warriors, which he intends to use to attack the city of Luminicity in order to gain control of the other half of the crystal. The game then begins with players taking control of Prince Lightstar, who has to battles his way through the armies of Baron Dark. Along the way he defeats all of the Baron's lieutenants: Shriek, the female skeleton with the ability to emit bone-shattering soundwaves; Aracula, the spider skeleton; Dr. Cyborn, the chief advisor to Baron Dark and scientist of the Skeleton Legion; and Dagger, the Baron's most trusted underling. Eventually Prince Lightstar makes his way to the Baron's fortress and defeats him in battle, regaining control of the other half of the crystal. In the end sequence we see the Legion of Light reuniting the two halves of the crystal and bringing peace and light back to the planet of Lumimaire. Gameplay Gameplay is split into two distinct parts, the side-scrolling levels, and the driving levels, with the former making up the bulk of the game. The driving levels are interspersed throughout the game, there being only 5 of them altogether, and involve Lightstar climbing onto his hovering motorcycle, "The Light Skybike",and riding it through the valleys of the planet Lumimaire, avoiding obstacles and shooting enemies along the way with the energy from his sword. The side-scrolling levels however involve Lightstar simply battling his way through an environment, the game lacked any puzzle mechanics and was simply straight-up combat, Lightstar would collect power-ups along the way allowing him to use new abilities, in a similar vein to Contra, Lightstar could collect power-ups that would enable his sword to shoot the equivalent of homing missiles, burst fire, spread shot, etc. The game featured 20 levels in total and boasted the presence of 100 different enemies, there were several enemy types including of course the eponymous skeletons, along with killer plants, birds, bats, dogs, and some other animals. Each of the enemy types had different attacks along with varying strengths and weaknesses. For example the armored skeleton warriors were strong against the prince's sword, however would be instantly killed from a missile attack. Mastery of this 'strengths and weaknesses' aspect of the game was vital to succeed as it had a harsh difficulty level, this being one of the major criticisms of the game upon release. Development In July 1994, Neversoft was formed. They initially found work for Playmates Interactive, a then-division of Playmates Toys who were about to release a line of toys called Skeleton Warriors and wanted a video game to go along with the toys and the cartoon series. Neversoft began work on the game design and moved into offices in Woodland Hills, California. Neversoft worked on the Sega Genesis version for five months, over that time they hired another artist and a level designer. In December 1994, Playmates cancelled the game. They were not unhappy with the progress, but had decided that they needed to get on the 32-bit bandwagon and develop the game for the Sega Saturn. 1995 was spent developing Skeleton Warriors for the Sega Saturn. Over the course of 1995, Neversoft grew rapidly by hiring three programmers, five artists, a level designer, a tester and an office administrator. Skeleton Warriors was finished in time for the 1995 holiday season and Neversoft began looking for other work while they ported Skeleton Warriors to the PlayStation in 1996. Reception Next Generation reviewed the Saturn version of the game, rating it three stars out of five, and stated that "In the end, if you simply can't get enough of side-scrolling action games, then you can count on this being one of the best." * See the game reviews of Skeleton Warrior Reviews * GameFan #38 (Vol 4, Issue 2) 1996 February Development Crew * Skeleton Warrior Credits PlayStation 1 Version * Skeleton Warrior Credits Sega Saturn Version Trivia * Based on a short-lived toyline/animated series franchise (a la Transformers or G.I. Joe) of the same name. Don't worry if you've never heard about them, save for the moderately cool skeleton toys, you didn't miss anything. External Links * Skeleton Warriors at GameFAQs * Skeleton Warriors at Giant Bomb * Skeleton Warriors at MobyGames